One Canada Square's bottomless brunch

As a city, we're not doing brunch properly yet. At least not in the New York sense. One Canada Square is one of several establishments that are rectifying this, offering an all-day brunch menu with two hours of unlimited drinks to wash it down. In order to make the most of the occasion, the restaurant offers both a two-course and three-course menu, making for a more leisurely meal. The starters include all of your brunch favourites, albeit with inventive twists, while the mains are more lunchtime appropriate, with everything from seafood pasta to steak tartare. If, like us, you're a believer in there always being room for dessert, you'll like the sweets menu, which features classic comforting puddings like apple pie and custard and chocolate brownies.

The lowdown

We were expecting Canary Wharf on a Saturday morning to be deserted, but were pleasantly surprised to see that at One Canada Square, the atmosphere was as buzzy as ever. The New-York-style decor (everything is in red leather and dark wood) really adds to the feeling of this being an American export, particularly with the addition of a live pianist taking requests in the corner (at one point he even played Frank Sinatra's classic paean to the Big Apple).

Menu highlights

The brunch items on the starter section were impressive to say the least. The two standout items were the ox-cheek hash and soft-shell crab Benedict, both of which used unusual combinations of flavours to create a really hearty meal. We loved the salty, melt-in-the-mouth ox cheek teamed with the crunchy potato hash, particularly when doused in a burst runny egg yolk. Likewise the unconventional eggs Benedict, in which the ham was swapped for soft-shell crab and the hollandaise given a jalapeño kick, more than lived up to its rave reviews. We also have to mention the drinks, which never stopped flowing; indeed, we had barely finished one raspberry bellini or Bloody Mary before another sprung up in its place.

Perfect for…

Lazy Saturday afternoons with friends or special occasions deserving of a feast.

The Bottomless Brunch is £20 for two courses and £25 for three courses, with an additional £20 for bottomless drinks. One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, E14 (www.onecanadasquarerestaurant.com)

HARPER'S BAZAAR, PART OF THE HEARST UK FASHION & BEAUTY NETWORK
Harper's BAZAAR participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.